Speaking of the PDC's PR challenges, has anything happened with the three public involvement positions that were posted amid much publicity earlier this year? There was also rumor of a PIO position which may or may not have been tabled with the resignation of Martha Richmond. Perhaps the reason that they are floundering at the moment is due to the fact that they, like many other places, are understaffed and overwhelmed. What will happen with their communications department? And when will things be changing for the better?

I don't think the issue here is the PR "challenges" at the PDC, it's the lack of transparency and (here's that awful word, again) accountability. Sounds as if you subscribe to the Anna Griffin Theory of Wilful Misdiagnosis

For some folks, any "challenge" can be addressed by adding staff (see any public entity) thereby spending more money.

In a perfect world, what would happen to their communications department, along with all the other "flounders", would be their dissolution.

Then we'll see things "changing for the better".

So not only do they divert millions of dollars from local goverment taxes to give to their favored insiders, they won't even comply with the law that tells them to report on how much money is being diverted?

They should be giving out this information WILLINGLY even without a state law that tells them to.

The PDC is out of control.

Of course the PDC should be reporting the yearly impact of their Urban Renewal operation.

Law or no law the public at large should be enabled by government agencies to stand in judgment of those agency activities.

Not only should the public get yearly impact reports, a cumulative, running total ( for each district) should be included so that people can know the long term amount of property taxes diverted to the Urban Renewal plans so many find unwise.

To City Club members,
Why didn't your review of the PDC show raise this lack of reporting by the PDC?
What is more germane to PDC operation than then the level of funding they divert from city coffers?

To journalists,
Why have you not reported clearly on Urban Renewal and it's true effect on taxing districts?

Steve--I was a member of the City Club research board when the PDC study was initiated and helped write the study's mission statement. When you take a bunch of fairly well-educated people who have proven they have no conflict of interest in the subject at hand, there is a steep learning curve. To get out a report in timely fashion (that is, within a couple of years), the scope of the study is usually narrowed. It is possible the questions you ask were outside the scope of the study, though I can't remember and have no idea if these questions were ever raised.

I cycled off the research board before the study was published. As I recall, the study committee was having trouble setting deadlines to finish the project, as just about every week, some new revelation about the PDC was coming out in the media. At some point, the committee had to say, "Enough," and write the report.

City Club studies often have lives long after their reports are published, however. The club now has an advocacy committee that tries to get a report's recommendations converted into public policy. And it's not unheard of for a report to be updated.

You can call Wade at City Club to find out if anything is going on with the PDC report.

And if you are not a member, why not join the City Club and have influence over what it does? It's only about $150 a year and you get a two-buck discount on the luncheon forums at the Governor.

See -- Sam Adams' Blog: Warren Jimenez: What is Economic Success?

See also -- Boring (or exciting) economic development stuff -- "lesser+industrialized+countries"

The Proper Classification of George Bush

"Eventually Mussolini established a new government in Italy based on the fascist principles of supporting business at the expense of everything else. In fact, Mussolini himself said 'Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of State and corporate power.' Looking at our current president and his policies, I'd say he fits the bill pretty well."

This old Ag Econ grad would look to whether anything that the PDC could speak too can be reduced in simplicity to something like the increase in number of ships (or metric tons) of wheat exports that result from the federal PL-480 program that finances poorer-country foreign purchases. The nexus between cause and effect is easier to quantify. (Yet even such gifts are tied to international politics, like for good old Saddam who diverted ships to get cash to buy weapons.)

Jack, "Trial By Blog" does not work unless the target feels compelled to answer.

Your challenge could be fully swallowed by an alternative inquiry; that of Why should there be Any tax (to cover interest payments) for anything that is characterized as promoting Economic Development. The methodology is all whack for nearly all local economic development proposals. They have at their heart qualitatively evil goals of benefits for a few at the expense of the many. It is already transparent enough, from a policy formulation perspective, at least transparent enough for me.

The statutory phrase might be simple, but that does not encapsulate larger issues that are qualitative in nature. Suppose you got an answer to your exact question . . . would it alter any subsequent argument, other than merely the magnitude of the problem?

One revelation from the PDC is the total payout of TIF monies (property taxes)during the 20 years of UR.
In SoWa alone the announced $288 million plan is really $160 million more in debt service.
making the 20 year expenditure $448 million. All of which is paid by the property taxes during that 20 years with many more year needed to break even.
Add up all the districts and the numbers truly get crazy.